Earth to Echo: Ringtone
by shadowblade-tara
Summary: Alex never changes his ringtone. He will never forget. Turns out, neither has Echo.
1. Chapter 1

Earth to Echo © so totally not mine. I only wish.

AN: Seriously? How are there not any Earth to Echo fanfics out there? Really guys? So if you've seen the movie but haven't watched all the way through the credits – do it. Do it now, then come back and read this. This is the world of Marvel movies, and now everyone hides scenes in the credits. This one has a pretty cool scene hidden – and it's the inspiration for this one-shot.

**Ringtone**

Alex never changes his ringtone.

The kids grow up. Technology changes – the world changes. High school comes and goes. Soon, they find themselves in college, all four of them. Through careful planning and a stroke of luck (and honestly, probably a good dose of Munch's hacking skills) they wind up in the same college. Things aren't quite the same as they were in middle school. They travel in slightly different circles now, no longer united by being social outcasts. They're still best friends, and they always will be.

And Alex still hasn't changed his ringtone.

He catches a lot of crap about it. People laugh when they learn he's always had that same silly jingle. They try to convince him to change it. Alex just shakes his head, and Tuck and Munch exchange secret grins with Emma. They all know why Alex will never change that ringtone.

Alex promised a long time ago. This is the symbol of his promise.

_Even when they think I've forgotten, I never will._

/-/

Sometimes the phones will change.

Sometimes a map will find its way to their phones, and they'll take a day off to make their way to where x marks their spot. There never is anything at the site, and they never expect to see their friend – it's more of a reminder than anything else. Alex's ringtone doesn't change, and sometimes the phones send them maps.

It's Echo's way of showing he hasn't forgotten either.

/-/

"Alex? Can I speak with you?"

Alex motions for Tuck and Munch to continue on without him. The astrology teacher smiles at him as he approaches the desk. "Yes sir?" he asks. Professor Hunt motions for him to follow.

"I was most impressed with your essay." he says. "I wasn't aware you had such a keen interest in astrobiology."

Alex flinches, tightening his grip on his backpack. "I don't, sir."

"You made an excellent argument for the existence of mechanical life."

"I was a big Transformers fan growing up."

That makes Professor Hunt laugh. "Still. I thought you might like to see my latest find." He guides Alex into his office. "I know you are aware that I collect meteorites." Alex just nods. Hunt picks one up from his desk drawer and hands it to him. "What do you make of this?"

It's small, small enough to fit in his hand, and perfectly smooth. Almost like an egg. Alex arches an eyebrow. "I wasn't aware meteors were this perfect." he says dryly.

Hunt smiles. "They're not. That's not a meteor. I'm not sure what it is, but it's definitely not that." He leans back against the wall. "Why don't you keep it?" At Alex's look, he adds, "It's worthless to me. Probably just a shaped piece of metal, but I thought you might like it."

Alex offers his first real smile. "Thanks, Professor." His cell phone chimes a text message from Tuck. They've probably figured out where to eat lunch today. It's Munch's goal to find every exotic little hole-in-the-wall to eat in within twenty miles of the college.

Before he can even think to respond, something happens.

The ball of metal chimes.

_Beep-beep-beep-beep._

He can't breathe. His hand closes around the little metal ball. "I'll see you Thursday!" he says, practically running from the office. He grabs his phone and fires off a quick group text. Five minutes later, he's back in his dorm room. He places the metal ball on his bed with shaking hands.

After all these years, is it really possible?

"Hm-hm-hm-hm."

_Beep-beep-beep-beep._

He laughs, the sound erupting from him in static bursts. He thinks he might be crying. He can barely tell when Tuck places a hand on his shoulder.

The metal orb splits open, and Alex can see two large blue eyes staring at him.

_Echo._

/-/

AN: Aaaand that did not turn out the way I thought it would. Did I say one-shot? It can be a one-shot. Or if you wanna know what just happened, just drop me a line and I'll continue.


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Yay reviews! I'm sorry to make you guys wait so long, but here is chapter 2!

**ch 2**

It's like they're kids all over again, astounded that the piece of junk they found in the desert was actually something unique, something _alien_, and they'd been chosen to help it get home. This time Tuck leaves the camera off. Thankfully he's somewhat grown out of his desire to film literally _everything_, but Emma can still see his eyes flickering over to the handheld camcorder he keeps.

Munch is bouncing on his heels. "Echo's back, Echo's back!" he chants happily.

Emma holds up her hands. "Are we even sure this is Echo? It could be someone else."

Alex just grins. "It's him."

_Beep! Beep-beep-beep-beep!_ The silver orb fully breaks open and rolls onto its feet. He looks up at Alex and waves tiny arms around. _Beep-beep-beep-beep!_ Alex laughs and reaches out, gently touching his finger to Echo's. There's a small spark, just like last time. He looks up at the others, and Tuck realizes it's been a long time since he's seen his friend this freakin' happy.

"It's Echo."

Echo beeps happily at them. Tuck claps his hands together and grins. "Okay, 20 questions with an alien, part two!" he says. Munch cheers. Emma just laughs at him. Tuck keeps his attention on Alex. "When's your roommate coming back?"

Alex winces. "Too soon. We should use your dorm." He turns his focus back to Echo. "Can you ball up again? We don't want anyone else seeing you." Echo chirps and closes up, once again looking like a particularly unimaginative paperweight. Alex gently picks him up and places him in his jacket pocket. The four of them leave and practically run to the other side of the dorm building, where Tuck and Munch share a dorm. Alex pulls Echo from his pocket and sets him on Tuck's bed.

"Okay, we're safe."

The orb immediately splits open again, and Echo chitters happily at them. Alex laughs. "Okay, little guy, slow down. You know how we gotta do this."

_Beep!_

The four of them settle on the floor in a circle, Echo hovering in the center. Munch grins. "Okay, I go first." Echo twists to see him. "Did you crash again?"

"Much!" Emma protests. "What kind of question is that?"

"A good one!" Munch protests. Alex just shakes his head while Tuck laughs.

_Beep-beep!_

"That would be a negative, dude." Tuck says with a grin. "My turn. Are you building something?"

_Beep-beep!_

Emma frowns. "Are you looking for something?"

_Beep!_

Tuck watches as the light turns on behind Alex's eyes. "Not something. Someone." Echo beeps yes. A slow grin crosses the other's face. "Are there others like you here?"

_Beep!_ Echo practically bounces in place. The others are picking up on it as well. Munch is almost giggling as Emma and Tuck exchange huge grins.

Munch leans forward, drawing Echo's attention. "You're looking for them." _Beep!_ "Are they in danger?"

_Beep!_

The four of them exchange looks. Alex nods. "I'm in."

Tuck grins. "Yep. We got your back, Echo. Do you know where to start looking?" A frustrated _beep-beep._ The others consider for a moment. Slowly, Alex sighs.

"I think Professor Hunt would know." he says finally.

Tuck blinks. "Why would Hunt know anything about Echo?"

"Because he's the one who gave me Echo. He thought he was a paperweight or something. Thought I would want it." It sounds lame, and Munch makes a face, but Emma is definitely considering his words.

"You guys do realize that finals are coming up next week, right?" Munch says. "If we flunk out, we'll be in big trouble."

"We'll just have to repeat the class." Tuck protests. "Besides, this is much more important than some tests."

"I'm just pointing it out." Munch retorts. "I know."

Emma claps her hands together, drawing their attention. "Okay, so let's go and talk to Hunt. Maybe he can tell us where he got Echo from."

"Awesome." Alex stands up. Echo immediately curls back up in his ball and allows Alex to place him in his jacket pocket. They're going to have to find a more secure way of carrying Echo around, but for now, this will do. Together the four of them head off back to Hunt's classroom.

/-/

AN: To my reviewer who requested longer chapters – I'm sorry this one is so short! With the holiday coming up, I wanted to go ahead and get it up. The next chapter will be much longer, scout's honor!


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